China to Bar Loans to Companies That Violate Environmental Laws

Updated July 6, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

China will bar bank loans to companies that violate environmental rules in a new effort to clean up worsening pollution, state media reported. "Companies who fail to pass environmental assessment or fail to implement China's environmental-protection regulations are disqualified from getting loans from any bank or financial institution," said Pan Yue, the deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration, according to the Xinhua news agency. The government has been stepping up efforts to enforce frequently ignored environmental rules amid worsening concern about pollution that has left...